Australia has captured its continent as it faces England for a spot in the Women’s World Cup final
Sam Kerr released her autobiography roughly three weeks before Australia’s national team opened the Women’s World Cup. Kerr is the leader of the Matildas — she’s actually among the best players in the world — and as captain of the tournament’s co-host team, she was supposed to be the star of the show.
But Kerr was injured and missed all of group play. And Australia didn’t really get buzzworthy until the Aussies knocked off Denmark to earn a quarterfinal match against France. Now this rugby-mad nation is paying attention to soccer — women’s soccer, no less — and sold-out crowds are turning out for the Matildas’ historic run.
Kerr at last delivered against France when she came off the bench, played through extra time and made her penalty kick in Australia’s 7-6 shootout win over France. Now Australia is in its very first semifinal, Wednesday at supersized Stadium Australia, against European champion England.
With a win over England, Australia can advance to the final and try to become the only team other than the United States to win a Women’s World Cup on home soil.
So now, all these weeks later, Kerr’s book, “My Journey to the World Cup,” has gained some traction. It’s been picked up by the tabloids for the parts in which Kerr discusses passing herself off as a boy to play at the junior level because her talent had maxed out what Australia had to offer girls.
Kerr wrote she had to quit when the boys game became too physical, and she thought she was done with soccer. Instead, she’s made it and is a star for Chelsea while leading Australia on this run. The Australian national program has added more homegrown talent, including 20-year-old Mary Fowler, who plays for Manchester City.
The nation has gone mad for the Matildas,
Read on indianexpress.com
